How was your NICAR26?
Ron Hurtibise of the Daytona Beach News-Journal reports on Florida’s efforts to clean up gasoline leaks in Volusia and Flagler counties, finding that “In 20 years, the state has spent $2.3 billion on cleanup strategies that often haven’t worked. Old, steel gas station tanks, easily corroded in porous sandy soils, faithfully serviced generations of Florida…
Read MoreMike McGraw and Michael Mansur of The Kansas City Star uncovered documents showing that a city housing agency provided what experts called a “sweetheart” loan to a group redeveloping an apartment building. The recipient defended the financing, although “neither the original loan documents nor later changes in the agreement were ever made public by recording…
Read MoreCraig Pittman and Matthew Waite of the St. Petersburg Times used a social network analysis program analysis and documents to show that “a developers’ lobbyist helped write a state bill that would make it easier to get a permit to destroy wetlands of 10 acres or smaller. When it passed, the builders persuaded 15 members…
Read MoreLiz Chandler, Ames Alexander and Danica Coto of The Charlotte Observer used driving records from several states to show that “an illegal Mexican immigrant in North Carolina was charged with drunken driving at least five times before a July 16 wreck that killed a Gaston County teacher.” North Carolina authorities were unaware of Ramiro Gallegos’…
Read MoreEric Nalder and Lewis Kamb of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer report in a three-part series on how a disgraced sheriff’s deputy beat the system. The report details the allegations made against the deputy, including drug use, theft, attempted stalking, conspiracy to promote prostitution and official misconduct. “For 14 years, the detective worked on his own, rarely…
Read MoreEunice Trotter, Tom Spalding and Mark Nichols of The Indianapolis Star analyzed police pursuit data to investigate the 86 deaths Indiana saw in the last decade following police chases. They found that “initiated pursuits that ended with at least one injury or death in one of five cases.” Most of the pursuits were found to…
Read MoreTim Darragh and Christopher Schnaars of The (Allentown) Morning Call uses restaurant inspection data to investigate food safety in Lehigh Valley and Pennsylvania. They found that Pennsylvania’s “patchwork of food safety laws and public health agencies often fails to provide even minimal monitoring of restaurants and food retailers.” School cafeterias scored well on recent inspections.…
Read MoreGilbert M. Gaul of The Washington Post reports in a three-part series that Medicare policies often pay hospitals to practice medicine poorly. “In a four-year period, 106 heart patients at Palm Beach Gardens developed infections after surgery, according to lawsuits and government records.” In part-two of the series, the Post looks at the nonprofit that…
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